University of Manchester

This course looks at the life and lasting legacy of Alexander the Great. It begins with Alexander’s father Philip and the troubled relations he had with his son.  From there it studies Alexander’s rise to power in Macedon and his conquest of the Persian Empire; examining his army, strategy, and tactics - and those of his opponents. Students also look at what motivated Alexander throughout his short life and at the nature of the empire that he constructed. 

The Iron Age of Britain and Ireland is famed for its fabulous objects adorned with Celtic art: swords, shields, and cauldrons; torcs and horse-gear; as well as technological marvels such as the chariot. It has also given rise to some of the first "named" individuals we know from later prehistory as it entered the world of Rome: Commius, Boudicca, and Cartimandua. In this course, students explore the reality behind these myths, during this fascinating millennium (c. 800 BC-100 AD): the invention of smithing iron, the creation of the hillforts which still dominate our skylines, the fabulous hoards of weaponry and horse-gear buried in pits and rivers, and the burials through which we can explore the lives and deaths of some exceptional figures from the past. We will examine conflict and violence, feasting and craftwork, agricultural labor, and the sacrifice of both people and things. 

This course introduces students to the complex area of youth crime, the contemporary forces that shape youth justice policy, and the ways in which the criminal justice system has responded to it.

The course introduces students to selected topics in the legal application of medical scientific expertise. Students learn about the historical development and application of forensic investigation techniques such as toxicology, psychiatry, crime scene investigation, and DNA profiling, and how they were presented to the public in various media (e.g. detective fiction, newspaper reports, forensic television dramas). Students consider who make claims to forensic truth and what tools and techniques they use to arrive at that conclusion.

Through the reading of a selection of Arabic literary texts in English translation by leading authors from across the Arab world, the course introduces students to the language, style, and themes of postcolonial Arabic literature. Students look at the features and significance of the "postcolonial voice" in Arabic literature produced in the aftermath of national independence and the end of colonial rule, and analyze some theoretical concepts in the context of postcolonial literary criticism. The course also develops understanding of the political, historical, and cultural contexts of the postcolonial approach to Arabic literature. 

The course unit uses in-depth analyses of individual artworks to introduce students to key methods and concepts of art historical understanding. Each lecture is focused on the detailed exposition of one artwork and the critical debates surrounding its interpretation. The lectures as a whole are arranged chronologically from the Ice Age to the Baroque, covering art produced around the globe. This is neither the study of a canon nor a traditional survey of art history, although it will reflect upon both. It examines some well-known artworks of the past alongside others that have been considered marginal or have been neglected. 

This course students to the study of a rapidly changing Middle East and North Africa from a multidisciplinary angle. The course debunks preconceived stereotypical ideas students might have acquired through the media about a region often typified as a war zone and an area rife with conflict. Students gain a comprehensive understanding of the MENA from multifarious angles including history, politics, and culture.

This course introduces students to some of the key social theories and thinkers from the global South. The course's starting point is that classical and mainstream social theory has emerged and evolved in a particular context, and as a result of colonial and imperial power relations. The course is divided into two main sections as well as an introduction and a conclusion. The first section focuses on four theories which originated as a collective endeavor of a number of scholars in the South: postcolonialism, subaltern studies, dependency theory, and decolonial theory. In the second section, students focus on a number of individual social thinkers from different parts of the global South, their stories and social thoughts: Ibn Khaldun (Tunisia), Paulin Hountondji (Benin), Ali Shariati (Iran) and Veena Das (India). 

This course introduces students to the fundamental concepts, principles, and techniques of financial accounting and reporting for students who are not specialists in accounting. It takes a conceptual and practical approach which emphasizes general principles and methods in order to allow these concepts to be applied to specific problems and issues in accounting and the wider business/social environment. The course assumes no background knowledge in accounting.

This course encourages students to critically engage with key concepts and historiographical issues in the social and cultural history of the transitions from war to peace in the post-1918 and post-1945 period. It considers the complexity of French, British, German experiences of the transition from war to peace and the differences between the aftermaths of the First and Second World Wars. Students assess primary sources, particularly ego-documents such as letters and diaries, and interweave primary and secondary sources in arguments and discussions.